Spooky Animal Trivia

Like creatures from a horror movie, moray eels each have two sets of jaws— both with needle-like teeth. These jaws, located in the mouth and in the back of the throat, help a moray catch its meals. A moray grabs its prey with the first set of jaws. Then, once the meal is secure, the second set of jaws swiftly shoots forward, seizes the food and drags it through the throat to be swallowed.

While a meal of rotting carcasses may seem totally gross to us, vultures play a vital role in the ecosystem as scavengers that consume, and clean up, carrion. Black vultures are even somewhat dainty eaters, pulling back the crown of feathers on their neck to avoid getting messy from their meal.

What animal has 240 legs? A millipede. Millipedes can secrete a nasty tasting fluid, making them an unappetizing meal for predators.

What’s scarier than a cockroach? A bigger cockroach! The Madagascar hissing cockroach is the largest of all cockroaches, reaching two to three inches in length. They “hiss” by forcing air through breathing holes called spiracles on the sides of their carapace. But, these cockroaches are all hiss and no bite. They hiss to frighten potential predators or to attract a mate.

Although they seem terrifying with their mouths gaping open to display rows of razor sharp teeth, sand tiger sharks use these teeth to snatch small prey. A perfect meal for a sand tiger shark would be a mouthful of small fish with a side of squid, crab and lobster.